I've been remiss in keeping this blog up-to-date, largely because of my involvement with the University, my volunteer work with the horse rescue group HEART, and my commitment to finishing an annotated bibliography of research on Catullus for the journal Lustrum. The bibliography, which took six years to complete (2010-16) finally went to the publisher last year and was published in January. With that and other deadlines met, I find myself for the first time in ages with extra time available, and I've promised myself that I will complete necessarily brief summaries of our trips to France in 2015 and Eastern Europe in 2016, as well as a much more detailed account of my solo visit to Croatia in May 2017. So here are my impressions of the river cruise around Bordeaux and environs, necessarily fuzzy because it's been two years.
What sticks in the mind two years after a vacation is a good test of whether the trip accomplished its aims and gave value for money. That's a consideration because Viking Tours caters to an upscale market. My rationale for choosing one of their offerings was increased accessibility for Ron, who isn't able to handle stairs on a ship any more. So the accommodations and the food were definitely better than those of Voyages to Antiquity, with its rather cramped cabins and buffet-style meal service. Viking emphasizes the cultural immersion over the educational experience: there were no on-board history lectures, and shore excursions included a truffle hunting excursion and a visit to the Camus distillery to sample cognac and blend your own. We also visited a citadel, the 17th century Fortress of Blaye constructed by Louis XIV. One military site or castle per trip is my limit--I find towering stone walls depressing. The tour included visits to several vineyards, tasting well-known French varietals--Sauternes, Burgundies and Bordeaux, and the wines of Saint-Emilion. We had a banquet at one of the chateaux with accompanying house wines, served in an eighteenth-century hall. Very gracious ambiance. Other than that, most of the on-shore activities involved city walking tours, again a problem for Ron.
Of the shore excursions, the Saint-Emilion visit was the most memorable. The town is charming, but predictably thronged with tourists and expensive. Prices for bottles of vintage wines were out of sight. Still, it was pleasant to explore the streets of the old town and then have a glass of wine in the ruins of the Des Cordeliers convent. I also enjoyed the visit to the Camus distillery, where I blended my own bottle of cognac. After putting it away for the requisite twelve months, we tasted it and it's not bad at all; we still have some left for next Christmas, although the bottle is getting low. While I was sipping cognac, Ron took the truffle-hunting excursion. He was delighted that the dog they used looked a lot like Annie. 
At the Blaye citadel, I saw a group of saddled horses tied up and wondered what they were doing there. Their tack, though reminiscent of dressage saddles, had extra equipment attached. Maybe they were going for a trail ride starting from the monument. That would have been more fun than trudging along stone walks.
After the cruise, Ron and I caught the train to Paris, where we spent three days at the charming Hotel Alma. It's centrally located, within walking distance of Les Invalides and Napoleon's Tomb. We took the opportunity to see both, because we hadn't been able to fit them in on previous visits. Faute de mieux, since I didn't want to go back to the Louvre again, we also took in a fascinating exhibition of medieval magic texts and artifacts at the Jewish Museum. That too was a highlight, and one I absolutely hadn't planned for--we were walking past, and there it was.
Grade for this trip: B. Not a whole lot of serendipity except for the museum visit.
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